The Meaning of Hatred
by lilyrose225
Summary: There was one thing that Clovis la. Britannia would never say.


A/N: Well, it's finally published. Took me quite a while; this idea was first formed in... uhh... November. How embarrassing. Thank you very much to both ChalkMuffins and Shinigami's Brush for betaing this and telling me exactly what was wrong with it. *cries* Whatever would I do without them?

Warnings: Major spoilers for the first three episodes. Two actual character deaths and two supposed characters deaths, if anyone cares about that. Slight spoilers for the end of R2, but if you haven't seen it I don't think the spoiler will be obvious. Extreme hatred and jealousy abounds.

Disclaimer: Does any single country own Antarctica? No? Good. Now, do I own Code Geass? I'll give you a hint; it's the same answer, I just can't bring myself to actually say the reality.

Please enjoy.

* * *

The Meaning of Hatred

There was one thing Clovis la Britannia would never say.

Even as a child, it was obvious. He would scream and cry, throw temper tantrums for hours on end, and even threaten his younger step-brother, all just to avoid that one thing he hated the most.

The little brat would just sit there, bored expression on his face, no doubt planning his next scheme to trap Clovis' king.

Clovis hated that boy. His violet eyes spoke volumes and yet told you nothing at the same exact time. Every move was calculated, down to the last brown-nosing comment flattering Clovis' own mother. The boy was a demon, every action betraying his immense childish innocence which- Clovis happened to know- didn't exist.

All of the women of the court adored him, exclaiming politely how cute he was and how handsome he'd be when he grew up.

Clovis thought the child looked like a girl (especially with all the frills Lady Marianne insisted on), but when he voiced this thought aloud Euphie slapped him and Nunnally turned away. Clovis couldn't understand why everyone liked the little brat. He was only ever kind to Nunnally, Euphie, and his own mother (not that Clovis was paying any attention, at parties he got as far away from the demon as possible).

* * *

As he got older, Clovis focused less on chess matches and trying (in vain) to beat the boy, and more on his appearance and social activities. He knew he would never be a tactical genius. That was Schneizel's territory, who by some trick of Fate beat the brat every time they played chess against one another. That was extremely annoying to Clovis, because Schneizel was the smartest person he knew (besides, of course, Charles, his father, and the demon brat himself).

He wouldn't rule. That was Odysseus' place, unless of course Odysseus, Guinevere, Schneizel, and Cornelia all somehow died, which would be a terrible loss to the Empire.

Cornelia herself was the military nut, always viewing life as it were a battlefield. On that battlefield her only weakness was Euphie, the peacemaker. Clovis really didn't care much about who ruled the empire or who fought. At the time, beating the brat and figuring himself out were much more important.

Nunnally didn't have any real talents besides looking cuter and acting sweeter than Euphie, so who knew what she would grow up to be. She was obviously more innocent and sheltered than most young girls; being pampered and spoiled by her mother and elder brother had that effect.

And then, of course, there was said elder brother. Being a megalomaniac (whose ego balloon could only be popped by his most precious Nunnally), Clovis figured he would probably wind up becoming a dictator of some far-off and secluded country, proclaiming long-winded, sleep-inducing speeches every couple of hours. Then at least, he would be somewhere he couldn't do any harm to the Sacred Empire.

So, because Clovis figured he was none of these kinds of people, he decided to continue to appear to be the person he had made himself into; the social butterfly and gossip/rumor central whose wings became more vibrant and elaborate by the day, in tandem with his clothing.

* * *

Let it never be said that Clovis disliked Lady Marianne the Flash. On the contrary; he adored her for her decorum. Her witticisms (which deflected all snide bullets much like her Knightmare's armor) stunned the other consorts, who could only tittered behind their pretty, perfectly embroidered gloves, watching while she flounced down the hallway- even in her heavy petticoats and dresses.

Clovis liked painting her. Usually, his works of art didn't include her brat of a son, but once he did paint Marianne with her two children, keeping the picture in his personal collection. No one had wanted it after she was brutally murdered. He mourned the loss with the Ashfords, Cornelia, Schneizel, the demon Brat, and a few select others who admired the commoner-turned-royalty, with himself looking stylish even cloaked in solemn black. Nunnally, of course, was not at the rather small funeral, because she was still in critical care in the royal hospital.

So while Clovis greatly respected his step-mother, the same did not go for her son. How could someone so purely evil come from an all-around wonderful person?

It had to be mentioned that while Clovis only felt pity and sadness for Nunnally's condition and fate, he was secretly delighted her older brother would be leaving for Area 11. Clovis knew he wouldn't miss the conniving demon.

* * *

When he heard the news, Clovis was shocked. He had always disliked the boy, _hated_ him for being smarter and more clever, but he never would have wished death upon him. The two fragile siblings, whatever they had done, didn't deserve their fate. Clovis even felt a tinge of remorse for how had treated Marianne's son the last time he saw the children alive, if only because he was Marianne's son. Euphie bawled her eyes out, having loved Nunnally and her brother just as much as she loved Cornelia.

Not many attended the funeral, just as with their mother's passing. The Ashfords, disgraced, were already in the new Area 11. Most of the court disliked the idea of going or expressing their wishes of consolation to the Emperor. They did not wish to share exile with the children's' ghosts. That left the Royal Family, of which only the step-siblings who missed the Lamperouge-vi. Britannias attended, plus Clovis. He went for Marianne and Nunnally's sakes, nobody else.

There were no remains. It was said the bodies were unrecognizable, and therefore unfit for Their Highnesses to see.

Six-and-a-half years later, Clovis would remember that fact and wonder, when he heard of nobles swindled by a student, nobles who were on a much higher skill lever for playing chess than Clovis. Strangely, the news reminded him of Marianne's son, the demon child.

* * *

With the gun held up to his head, Clovis panicked. After a moment of thought he realized that this was it. In the final round of extreme sibling rivalry the Royal Family had established, he had lost.

He pleaded for his life, knowing all the while the brat- no, young man now- would not relent. Clovis grinned a mad grin inside. He, the demon, would make a good terrorist. Ruthless. A good leader already. Just like Schneizel, except perhaps smarter, and with something to fight for and protect.

Clovis' natural curiosity kicked in, and he wondered how Nunnally was doing. How did they survive the war? Who had sheltered them, as most certainly someone had after Lord Kururugi's suicide. Many, many questions spiraled through his mind, as he noticed the red bird in the man's left eye. So, he had Geass. It must have been the girl the Shinjuku terrorists had taken hours before, thinking her prison was a poison gas capsule. The inner grin widened. Clovis hoped that wherever he went, he could watch his younger step-brother. Maybe his questions would be answered then, but now, he knew he had no time left.

As Clovis felt his eyes close- seemingly of their own accord- he conceded defeat and thought the one thing he had swore to himself he would never say.

_You win, Lelouch._

The boy deserved it, after all. Even if the sentiment wasn't vocalized. Clovis had been right; Lelouch was, and always would be a Demon.

Up until the moment he felt the gun leave his head in recoil Clovis kept up his careful charade, one he had played for over twenty years, that he was a foolish imbecile who didn't know anything. He wasn't the best actor for nothing, but he never thought his acting might kill him.

He didn't feel the bullet as it charged through his forehead. Clovis knew there was no way to be saved; Lelouch, standing in front of him, had made sure of that. The boy was just too thorough.

* * *

Lelouch wondered as he made his way home, how and why it was that Clovis, the weakling he despised for his flamboyancy, died with a knowing smirk on his face, as if he knew the path his younger step-brother was treading. He would recall the question again when he became a Demon Emperor in name.

* * *

A/N: Wow. Clovis is... really dark. Rereading it just now, I realized that I painted him as a much darker and eviler character than I originally intended to. Funny how these things work out.

In case anyone can't figure it out on their own, the thing Clovis hated most was admitting defeat to Lelouch. Yeah. He suffered from petty hatred and jealousy, superficial emotions created by his defeats and seeing Lelouch with his sister and mother. I feel like Clovis would have wanted people like them to be close to him, and seeing Lelouch have what he didn't made him extremely upset.

I always wondered how much Clovis knew about Geass, and part of this one-shot answers that question, in a roundabout way. I also think that he was smarter than people give him credit for, just not a military strategist. It apparentely takes a certain type of person to be good at organizing a battle, and while Clovis definitely wasn't that type of person, I think he was at least a little bit smart. (Anyone else think that?) Something about him saying "tell the homeland we're carrying out a planned urban revival" or whatever it was he said gives me chills down my spine a little, and that makes me think his life is a charade. Also, he says "The viceroy is the face of Area 11. You need to be able to switch roles quickly." That statement makes me think he feels he is a superb actor.

I don't know if my ramblings helped or hindered anyone in their analysis and understanding of the story. It might just be I'm really annoying. I'm sorry if that is the case.

Anyway, as per my policy: If you liked my story, please review. If you didn't like it, review and complain why. If you're too lazy to review then that's entirely your problem and I don't care.

Call me cold if you will. Have a nice day/evening/morning.


End file.
